I have come across creamy polenta (resembling mashed potatoes) in a few recipe books. Given its difficult to find mashing spuds right now I thought this could be a good substitute. It also sounds easier and faster to prepare. Well actually it probably isn't faster as I buy the premashed and frozen spuds that you just have to nuke - I know, I know but I actually quite like them, just a tad on the pricey side. Does this sort of polenta dish have a similar flavour to mashed spuds? Or is it one of those neutral tasting things that takes on the flavours of what you mix it with, like cous cous?

I'm also not sure but is polenta the same thing that you make a kind of spongy looking baked thing from, in a yellowish shade if I'm thinking of the same thing - or is that something completely different? If it has lots of different uses I may add it to the shopping list and try it out. OOOOooooh getting adventurous now aren't I (but not quite tofu adventurous yet).

Aggghhhhh....Gimme tofu over poolenta any day. Isn't that what they shove down a duck's throat to make foie gras? Bland, tasteless, boring and, and other things a lady shouldn't say. Porridge would be better. Herby porridge mash with roast beef. Coming up for next challenge.

love Polenta!! A Romanian staple, but I have never got around to cooking it myself even though I have a packet in the pantry (mmmmm maybe that's where my moths are emanating from!!, better check the box). But I love it, and whenever at Romanian friends we always have it, but how to describe the taste, I don't know.

But I am a super fuss pot and I like it.

is the Romanian recipe your friends use anything like this. Culled from the web.

It's not surprising this Romanian cornmeal porridge or mamaliga is similar to Italian polenta. In the 16th century, the Turks introduced corn brought by Venetian merchants from the New World to northern Italians and Romanians, who planted the corn and made mush with it. This mush became Italian polenta and Romanian mamaliga. Mamaliga is a staple and is served on peasant tables and in the fanciest restaurants. It can be made in so many ways -- boiled in water, stock or milk, with cheese or sour cream, herbs, butter, and on and on. This is a basic soft mamaliga recipe.

Makes 6 servings of Romanian mamaliga
Cook Time: 0 hour, 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal
Sour cream (optional)
Telemea or feta cheese (optional)
Fresh herbs of choice (optional)
Preparation:

Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the salt and butter, stirring to melt. Using a wooden spoon, add the cornmeal very gradually, while stirring constantly in the same direction.

Simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, until it thickens and starts to pull away from the sides of the pot, about 35-40 minutes. Serve hot.

NOTE: If desired, while mamaliga is still hot, add more butter, cheese, sour cream and herbs. Mamaliga can also be served with a dollop of sour cream. Mamaliga can be poured into a pan. When cool, it can be flipped out onto a cutting board, cut into squares and sauteed in butter until crispy.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This last bit about cutting them into squares is similar to semolina gnocci which I absolutely adore, providing there is lots of parmesan stirred in first and sprinkled with parmesan after prior to baking...blisskins but not for the waist line.

It tastes sort of corn-like, which isn’t surprising. In its porridgy form I find it way too heavy for summer but it can be cooked, allowed to cool (it will solidify) sliced into fingers and fried. It’s good like this in salads or smothered in a fresh tomato salsa.
In winter I cook polenta in chicken stock with cream, butter and some parmesan. It should be quite wet. Very satisfying stuff.
The instant polenta most often sold in NZ is quite different to untreated version favoured by many Italians. The latter, however takes bloody ages to cook and it sticks and spits worse than quince paste.

I have made polenta before. It really is one of those neutral things that takes on whatever flavour you put with it. The texture is not smooth, and if you don't flavour it, then it is really bland.

The best way to try it to start with is to cook it with chicken stock, and add loads of parmesan. You can use it soft like mash, or spread it into a pan and leave it to set, then tip out, cut into pieces and grill or fry till crisp. mmmmm, yum.

Really good with a nice tasty casserole type dish with a rich tomato sauce.

Give it a try. Tell us what rating the kids give it!

I love polenta but if it is just boiled in salted water, it is like eating gloop. I cook it in a good chicken or vege stock and towards the end add some milk and either butter or cheese. It's a bit like risotto in that its only as good as the stock its cooked in. You can eat it straight away or set it in the fridge and then cut into squares to grill/fry/bake. It tastes nothing like mashed potato but when soft, can be used in the same way. You can purchase either white or yellow polenta but I have only eaten the yellow so don't know if the white tastes any different.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2010 04:33AM by Lynette.

I like polenta too. Good stock and lots and lots of butter and parmesan cheese is the secret!! I'm not so keen on the congealed/sliced/fried stuff though.

-- Karl

-----------------------------------
What Karl & Fiona have been cooking up!
[edibleplanet.wordpress.com]

That's the one Kerry, and it is called Mamaliga. I purchased the correct wooden spoon in Romania, but have used it more as a rolling pin (it's a wooden cylinder) then a mamaliga stirrer It is more common as a side dish there then mashed potatoes - cheaper I guess. And if you sliced it, they just use string to cut down and make the slices.

Thanks all, sounds like a common theme of gloop unless lots of extras added to it. If it has cream, butter and parmesen in it then it probably would taste quite nice (and maybe a dash of some fresh herbs)??? Not sure about it as a summer option now as it does sound heavier but maybe once the crockpot gets lugged out again on a colder day.

I'm a fan of polenta, and I always cook it using a method I picked up from a recipe book years ago. Heat the water or stock (or a mixture of stock and milk)until boiling, trickle in the polenta, stirring all the time, and stir until it is just starting to thicken - ie the grains are in suspension. At this stage transfer it to a double boiler, or if you don't have one, stand the pot on top of a smaller pot full of simmering water. Cover with a lid, and leave for about 30 mins, or until it has thickened and the grain is soft. No spitting this way (I agree - it is worse than quince paste) When it is cool, I cut it in slices and freeze it if I don't want it immediately, then take out as many slices as I need and fry or grill it. This works best if the polenta has some oil or fat in it, or if it is made with milk. If it is just made with water, it takes forever to brown.

It tastes great cooked with water and salt, then with creme fraiche and parmesan stirred though it - must be well seasoned

Four legs good, two legs bad. George Orwell